Mines Amendment Bill not ready—Ministry

Malawians will have to wait a little bit longer before the Natural Resources Bill is tabled in Parliament, Ministry of Natural Resources, Energy and Mines has indicated.

The announcement, which the ministry’s Principal Secretary Patrick Matanda made to Parliament’s Agriculture, Natural Resources and Climate Change budget analysis cluster, is a U-turn on earlier promises that the draft Bill would be tabled in the National Assembly during the current meeting of Parliament.

Chidanti-Malunga:This is worrisome

Said Matanda: “We have just finalised the drafting of the new Bill and by the look of things, it cannot be ready for this meeting. May be in the next meeting because it has to go through the Cabinet committee before it comes to the House.”

Nsanje South West MP Joseph Chidanti-Malunga, who is also chairperson for Agriculture Committee of Parliament, asked officials from the ministry to assure the cluster on the possibility of tabling the bill in the current sitting.

“When will the Mines and Minerals Bill be tabled in Parliament? There have been so many delays and this is worrisome,” he said. n